Training with a snubbie

This is a discussion on Training with a snubbie within the General Firearm Discussion forums, part of the Related Topics category; What is the yds/ft that you should put the target at the range to get proficient with a 38cal airweight? I am trying to learn ...

Personally, I train draw an fire at 7 feet, than move out to 15 than 25. At 25 practice draw shoot move to cover shoot reload from strips, I only reload from strips at the range to keep in practice. I use half man silhouettes not little splash targets keep those for your mk111.

Shoot different distances. The one that you can CONSISTENTLY hit the target at is your max effective range. With my LCR .38, 10 yds is about as far as I would want to shoot it, honestly. 7 yds and the BG will have a bad day. 5 yds and he will have an ugly gaping wound whereever i want to put it. I learned this by shooting, shooting, and shooting some more.... at distances ranging from 3 ft up to 15 yds.

Simply put... go to the range and see how far you can shoot it. The more rounds you shoot the better you will get.

-PEF, a Framer with a Steelie...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. All guns are always loaded.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
4. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.

What is the yds/ft that you should put the target at the range to get proficient with a 38cal airweight? I am trying to learn what is the effective range.

On a practical note, I would measure the distance from your bed to the door, of the kitchen table to the door or window. Please also practice drawing and shooting from the position you lay in bed, and while seated at the table.

-PEF, a Framer with a Steelie...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. All guns are always loaded.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
4. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.

Personally, I train draw an fire at 7 feet, than move out to 15 than 25. At 25 practice draw shoot move to cover shoot reload from strips, I only reload from strips at the range to keep in practice. I use half man silhouettes not little splash targets keep those for your mk111.

Agreed...with practice a snubnose can score hits out to 25 yards. When we qualified as police officers most of our course of fire took place from 15 yards inward, but we did fire 5 rounds from the 20 and 25 yard lines. The other 40 rounds were fired from the 15, 10, 5, and 3 yard lines respectfully. Firing 10 rounds from each yard line also places mandatory reloads into the course, which is also something you need to work on and take the time to master.

Back when several members of my agency still carried revolvers our firearms policy was that if a weapon was to be carried off duty, rather than just as a backup, one had to qualify on the full state course (starting at 25 yards and moving in). No one really had any trouble. Of course, back then the department provided the ammo and you could practice all you wanted. Also, given it was part of the job, you might say there was some incentive to get good with snubbies because it was just a matter of time before you had to pull one.

That said, when teaching non-cops to shoot a j-frame (or equivalent), especially new-to-handgun shooters, I usually started really close and seldom moved beyond ten yards. Given time, I'd suggest that once a shooter could make quick, quality hits with boring regularity, it would be time to move back a few yards. For most folks, 15 yard aimed fire is about all they need to worry about, but once confident, they should always fire a few rounds from farther back just for the challenge.

Most self defense shootings are going to be very, very close, which means A. quick presentation and rapid, accurate fire is a must; and B. there will be much explaining necessary if one drops another human from a considerable distance, depending, of course, upon the totality of circumstances). I believe that was touched on in the link Snub44 provided. Still, as one gets the basic skills down, start thinking of various "What if?" scenarios. A gunman in a theater is an excellent consideration of a time when you may need to make a longer-than-normal shot to save your life and others. Knowing you can (notwithstanding the concern of whether that skill will be present when bullets are flying for real) make fairly long shots is a great confidence booster.

For point-shooting, make sure you tuck your strong-side elbow into your ribs/hip as you fire. When we practice, it's weapon out, tuck-and-fire. Assuming you aren't really, really close and it's safe to bring the weapon out farther, you can make followup shots as you extend your arm. Don't punch it out, however, make something like a "J" with your shooting hand: Your wrist at your hip dips slightly and you angle the weapon out to full arm length. I like to bring the weapon to my torso's mid-line as I tuck and fire that first hip-shot, then when I extend with that "J" move, I'm actually indexing with my center. It's hard to describe it better in few words and without pictures, but it's great for getting fast hits. Really fast you'll probably be getting surprisingly good hits from 7 yards and 10 will come along pretty fast.

7-10 Yards, one handed and two handed on a steel human silhouette. When I practice my goal is to get all 5 shots in the chest in 5 seconds. I practice aiming from the sights. Under 7 yards point and shoot is more feasible with practice. Shot placement is key, start slow, speed will come naturally.

Shooting 25 yards with a 1 7/8" barrel is impressive, master the snubbie at 10 yards then move back and you'll only become a better shooter.